Why the increase in meat prices? U.S. consumers have not seen such a rapid increase in the price of food purchased to consume at home since February 1974. According to the Consumer Price Index report released on May 12, 2020, in one month, the food at home category raised 2.6% in April. Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased the most, rising 4.3%. Conversations with Cody and … [Read more...]
Wilmington Township dairy farmers keep milking through bad times and good
Although milk prices aren’t the best right now, a Wilmington Township family keeps pressing on. “Something’s gotta change for the good,” said Mark Gerard, whose family has milked cows in the same place on Four Corners Rd. for half a decade. Gerard, who grew up on a hog and beef farm right down the road, met his wife, Dianne (Stoltz) at a scavenger hunt party when the two … [Read more...]
Salons and barbershops in a hairy situation
Since 5 p.m. on March 17, 2020, when Governor Walz announced that all hair salons and barbershops would need to close in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, most patrons never realized they wouldn’t reunite with their hair care specialist for nearly three months. Never in the history of America has there ever been a time when people can recall that it was … [Read more...]
Some Memorial Day ceremonies commenced
Memorial Day, the day on which those who died in active military service are remembered, was not forgotten. Out of 22 veterans organizations in Fillmore, Houston and Mower Counties, including American Legions, VFWs, and the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery in Preston, the majority of organizations canceled their programs amid concerns relating to the coronavirus and social … [Read more...]
Spring Grove resident Darrell Sinclair proof that life is a verb
Numerous sites on the world wide web defend the notion that life is a verb and not a noun. One such website, MBS Performance Counseling, argues that “life, as a noun, is a limiting way to define our existence.” Listening to 93-year-old Darrell Sinclair’s stories illustrates that he was an active participant in his life. Sinclair did not wait around for life to happen. He lived … [Read more...]
Former high school journalist at Fillmore County Journal publishes children’s book
“Let’s go on an adventure.” “Dr. Stephanie Thorson-Olesen is a psychologist who lives in Minnesota with her husband and three children. She believes that life is an adventure, and the world was meant to be explored! Plus, she is a professor and loves learning and teaching about lifespan development. She created this developmentally stimulating story for the children in her … [Read more...]
Food shelves continue to provide in the midst of the pandemic
Area food shelves have been busy implementing new procedures due to COVID-19. Normally, these food shelves operate on a consumer choice model where shoppers select items themselves (with a limit on high demand items like protein). Now, workers and volunteers are prepacking items to be picked up at the door or curbside. Some prepacked boxes are also purchased from Channel … [Read more...]
Fillmore County Journal Teacher of the Year 2020 announced
Although the 2019-2020 school year has not exactly gone as planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that did not stop the Fillmore County Journal and the sponsors of the Teacher of the Year Award from presenting a very deserving educator, Gerri Nielsen, of Fillmore Central Schools, with the Golden Apple Award for Teacher of the Year 2020. Nielsen grew up in Rushford, Minn., and … [Read more...]
COVID-19 strands missionary in Honduras
When Bonnie Davids traveled to the Nueva Esperanza, or New Hope school, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, for a mission trip, the Preston native had no reason to expect that it would be any different from her previous visits. This was Davids’ seventh mission trip to the school, and she was looking forward to ministering to the students and their families again. She arrived in Honduras … [Read more...]
Kappers’ Big Red Barn expands home milk deliveries
The Kappers family has always churned out creative ideas for their dairy. “Bob always had a plan. He’s an outside of the box thinker,” said Jeanette Kappers proudly in a 2017 Journal feature. Nestled into the community of Chatfield, the micro-dairy operates with the complete on-site production, processing, and packaging of their milk, as well as value-added products. In … [Read more...]